1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to points given to a customer who has purchased a commodity etc. and, in particular, to point service in a business transaction performed online using a computer network.
2. Related Art Statement
Point service in which points are given to a customer according to an amount of his purchase is widely provided by actual stores with the intention of exciting customers' will to purchase or enclosing customers, for example. The point system is arranged such that points obtained by a customer have a monetary value, for example, in a store that has given those points. When a customer who has received points purchases a commodity in that store, he can allot those points to a part of its purchase price.
A customer tends to make a purchase in a store that provides point service, and to make a purchase next time and thereafter also in the same store so as to use obtained points. Thus, today, point service is one of very effective sales strategies.
As well as actual stores, this point service is increasingly employed by virtual stores, i.e., so-called online shops, which become one of important sales forms as Internet grows.